Maria D. Van Kerkhove is the COVID-19 technical lead and head of Emerging Diseases and Zoonoses in the Health Emergencies Programme at the World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.
Michael J. Ryan is the executive director of the Health Emergencies Programme of the World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.
Science. 2021 Oct 22;374(6566):377. doi: 10.1126/science.abm7796. Epub 2021 Oct 13.
The past 30 years have exposed the global public health and economic threats posed by the emergence of infectious pathogens with epidemic and pandemic potential. Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), middle east respiratory syndrome (MERS), influenza, Ebola, Marburg, Lassa, Nipah, Zika, and now SARS coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) each have been the "Disease X" of their time. The risk of future emergence is driven by multiple forces, including climate change, ecosystem changes, and increasing urbanization. The next Disease X could appear at any time, and the world needs to be better prepared.
过去 30 年来，具有流行和大流行潜力的传染病病原体的出现，给全球公共卫生和经济带来了威胁。严重急性呼吸综合征（SARS）、中东呼吸综合征（MERS）、流感、埃博拉、马尔堡、拉萨热、尼帕、寨卡，现在还有新型冠状病毒（SARS-CoV-2），每一种都是当时的“X 疾病”。未来出现的风险受到多种因素的驱动，包括气候变化、生态系统变化和城市化的加剧。下一个 X 疾病随时可能出现，世界需要为此做好更好的准备。
